So I decided to take the plunge and I signed up as a Nutrimetics Consultant last week. I love makeup and skin scare and all things beauty and have been curious about it for a while but also a little afraid. What if I fail? What if I start doing this, friends and family see it and then it all falls in a heap and I’m not successful? It makes me really anxious thinking about it to be honest.

But then I think, so what? What do I have to gain from not trying? Nothing. What do I have to gain from giving it a good crack? Potentially a hell of a lot. So why not just freaking do it and see what happens.

I’ve been writing notes and strategies around how I can run this business online, I’ll probably need to do a couple of parties to rack up some sales and get interest. Though to be honest that also freaks me out, I’m quite shy and the idea of being in front of a whole group of strangers frightens me. But who knows, maybe I’ll end up enjoying it.

So many unknowns, but I’m still quite excited about at least being brave enough to give it a go.

I have heard many people say that getting a new cut or style is sometimes like having a holiday. It can be incredibly refreshing to have a new look, it can also be a huge adjustment if it’s a massive change. Usually in a good way, you keep touching it and looking at it in the mirror in fascination.

I am getting a new style tomorrow night and I am super excited. I have long hair at the moment, I had been growing it long because that’s how my boyfriend liked it. Though I think long hair looks quite pretty, I find it quite annoying to look after so have always favoured short hair. Now that he and I aren’t together anymore I am going back to having short hair, woohoo!

Walking is great for you. It gets the body moving, it gets you off the couch, and it makes you feel good about yourself. It doesn’t need to be a long walk, just a 10 minute walk will do.

If an improvement in mood and happiness isn’t enough, think about the other physical benefits to getting the body moving. You burn calories, work your muscles, give your heart a bit of a workout which is always good. What do you have to lose by treating yourself to a walk?

Zoos can be a controversial topic, especially depending on what zoo you’re talking about. Personally, I love the Adelaide and Monarto Zoos, I’ve been to two others overseas but they were the kind of zoos that drug animals for photos and I can’t get on board with that sort of practise.

Some people or groups (hello, PETA) believe animals, especially wild animals like lions, shouldn’t be held in captivity. But what happens when a species are dying out, say they’re critically endangered and in the next 10 years will be extinct in the wild. What do you do then? You bring that species into captivity and breed them with the aim of releasing a population of them into the wild.

Or do you think that we should just let these animals go extinct? Maybe there is an argument for that, maybe it’s the natural order of things. But what about when it’s not? Take the black rhino for example, it’s critically endangered in Africa and although in many areas it’s illegal to hunt them, it still happens. So sitting on your hands and thinking enacting laws is enough is equivalent to sticking your head in the sand and hoping the problem goes away. And it will go away because there won’t be any rhino left, but is that the outcome we want?

And so we come back to zoos, and the purpose of many zoos is not just to exhibit animals for the public to see, but to educate them on each animals’ plight. To conserve species using sometimes even a genetic based breeding program that incorporate zoos not just in one country but internationally as well.

I know there are zoos where the focus is on people being able to pet animals like tigers, or ride elephants. Those zoos, I have a problem with. They drug the tigers for a photo, they beat the elephants into submission, and that is just awful. Don’t support those zoos.

Zoos like Adelaide and Monarto Zoo, they are conservation focussed, they want to save species and educate the public and engage them in helping save the animals as well.

So I challenge you, go to your local zoo, not just to see the animals, but if the zookeepers do any talks, go to a couple of those, find out what the focus of the zoo is and how they achieve it. You will be amazed at what they are trying to achieve.

Winter really seems to be settling in today. It’s cold and windy and rainy. The perfect weather for climbing underneath blankets with a great book and a warm drink and maybe even a hot water bottle. For me, that’s the best part of winter. What’s your favourite thing about winter?

You know that old saying, sometimes when one door closes another one opens? I just closed one door, and am now visualising myself walking through the hallway of transition and over to the open door.

My partner and I ended our relationship. I feel I have done everything possible to make it work so I have some solace in that. Though I get waves of sadness, anger and frustration, I also feel at peace with myself for the first time in a long time. Because the door to that chapter of my life is now closed and I am actively readying myself for the next chapter.